Monday goings on

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about sticking with it…How much time (or how many pages) do you give a book that you aren't really enjoying before you'll set it aside? If you're reading it for a book group discussion, or for review, will you give it more of a chance then, say, a book you're reading for your own interest? Why, or why not?


This discussion came up last week and in responding to it then, I realized that I usually give a book about 50-100 pages before I put it down. I don't have to do this very often as most of the books I read come from glowing recommendations from the book blog world.

I don't belong to a book club or read and review ARC's so I have never had to deal with that aspect of it. I have had a few that chose for a specific challenge I signed up for which were a chore to read and if they hadn' t been for a challenge I would have put them down.



What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted each week by J. Kaye's Book Blog


I am reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and am loving it! I gave it to my son for Christmas and he has been bugging me ever since to read it!

After I finish it I am thinking of giving Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith a try. Or maybe Mr. Pip, or maybe a chik-lit type book. My reads have been kind of heavy lately!



What's In Your Mailbox Monday is hosted each week by Marcia over at The Printed Page.

I received two books this week---and I didn't receive any glares from my husband! ;)


1. Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons (from paperbackswap.com)










2. The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook (from Karen at Bookin' With Bingo)

Concert in the Park

(ok, it was just in the front yard!)

mudbound

Book: Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Pages: 324
Finished: May 2009
Challenges:
**New Author
** Read and Review
** Southern Reading Challenge
** Summer Vacation Challenge

First Sentence: "Henry and I dug the hole seven feet deep."

Summary:
Amazon.com Review
It is 1946 in the Mississippi Delta, where Memphis-bred Laura McAllan is struggling to adjust to farm life, rear her daughters with a modicum of manners and gentility, and be the wife her land-loving husband, Henry, wants her to be. It is an uphill battle every day. Things started badly when Henry's trusting nature resulted in the family being done out of a nice house in town, thus relegating them to a shack on their property. In addition, Henry's father, Pappy, a sour, mean-spirited devil of a man, moves in with them.

The real heart of the story, however, is the friendship between Jamie, Henry's too-charming brother, and Ronsel Jackson, son of sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm. They have both returned from the war changed men: Jamie has developed a deep love for alcohol and has recurring nightmares; Ronsel, after fighting valiantly for his country and being seen as a man by the world outside the South, is now back to being just another black "boy."

Told in alternating chapters by Laura, Henry, Jamie, Ronsel, and his parents, Florence and Hap, the story unfolds with a chilling inevitability. Jordan's writing and perfect control of the material lift it from being another "ain't-it-awful" tale to a heart-rending story of deep, mindless prejudice and cruelty.


Whew! This was not as easy of a read as I thought it would be. I know someplace I would not like to have lived ever-and that is 1946 Mississippi River Delta! I guess I can't say that I like southern literature if I never read any books set in the south before the 1970's. I hate, hate, hate the KKK and anytime they show up in a story my stomach draws up in a knot. This was the case with this book and getting through the last several chapters was difficult --except Jordan's writing just pulled me along and kept me wanting to read, even through the dreadful events--which you know are going to come at some time from the very first page.

I really enjoyed the six voices who narrated the story and I think that stylistic technique kept the plot line fresh. I felt for Laura and Florence, the two women in the story--both living lives that were not of their own making and having virtually no control over anything. Both mothers, one black and one white, treated totally opposite of each other by society, yet totally the same where it came to the fierceness of mother love. Henry, Laura's husband I really did not like much--he seemed to totally self-absorbed as far as his marriage went. The father in law was the most despicable person in the book and there was not one redeeming thing in his character.

Jordan won the 2006 Belwether Prize--an award given to books which spotlight conscience, social responsibility, and literary merit. She deserved to win with this book! It is not a book that goes away once you are done--oh no, it stays with you long after.

mailbox goodies

Look what arrived in my mailbox today!

This was the little prize I won from Molly, as the kick off to her Summer Vacation challenge. What a delightful little collection and of course it has a travel theme but also reeks of summer, something which I posted about earlier today--my summer list. This has just added to my summer fever, Molly!



There is:
A little journal, which I think I will print out all my summer reading reviews and attach inside
A little notepad
A bookmark
A set of 2 luggage tags
A pair of sunglasses
A mini book light
A set of summer drink coasters!

Thank You, Molly! This was so sweet of you.

Summer Reading

Ok, I know that Spring isn't over yet, but as is typical in Seattle we are having VERY summery- like weather here in May. It usually turns ugly off and on throughout June and gets nice again after the 4th of July. That said, I am in a summer mood--it also helps that I finished the Spring Reading Thing already.

So---who is hosting a large scale Summer Reading Challenge?
Come on now.
I even have my list all ready to go!

Here it is:

Mudbound-finished
Keeper and Kid
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Empire Falls
The Well and the Mine
Fair and Tender Ladies-finished
The Graveyard Book-finished
Mr. Pip
Shanghai Girls
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet-finished
Jane Emily
The Chili Queen
The Year of Fog
Love Walked In
The Governess
Emma
If You Lived Here

Now I am not saying that I will get to read all of these, as I think it would be rather ambitious of me. Nor am I saying that these are the only books I will read this summer. This is only a list of options, and more options can be added at any time! :)

So how about you all. Are you in summer mode yet? (as an aside, my boys don't even get out of school until June 23rd! Can you believe that???) I can't wait until they get out of school to get my summer reading going--in my mind, 1/2 of summer is gone by then!

And who is going to host that summer reading challenge anyway?

Spring Reading Thing 2009: Finished

The Spring Reading Thing 2009 is hosted by Callapider Days and I have finished it! Almost a month early! (It officially ends June 20th)
Here are the books I read--and if you click on the title you can see my review for it.

1. A World of Pies
2. Olive's Ocean
3. Stargirl
4. Doreen
5. Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha
6. A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain
7. Sarah's Key
8. Among the Mad
9. The Birth House
10. The Road
11. The Accidental
12. Cranford
13. A Busy Day
14. Misery

My favorite: Sarah's Key and A World of Pies

My least favorites: The Accidental and A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain.

Ok--now that my spring reading is completed, and the temps here all week have been in the 70's and low 80's, I say, bring on the summer reading!!!

mating rituals...

Bookin' With Bingo is participating in a Blog Tour and is giving away 5 copies of The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton. There are 53 blogs participating in the tour and there will be lots of chances to win this book. Here is a list of all the stops. It looks like a fun read.

Review: Misery

Book: Misery by Stephen King
Finished: May, 2009
Pages: 338
Challenges:
** Spring Reading Thing
** The Genres
** Read and Review
** New Authors
** A-Z Challenge
** 9 for 2009
** Read Your Name

First Sentence: "These sounds: even in the haze."

Well I did it! I read my first King novel and am probably one of the last people to do it-I mean the man has been writing for decades! What is there to say? It was a marvelously constructed novel. The characterizations were amazing--and I must say that Kathy Bates is probably the only actress who could play Annie so well. I didn't remember anything from the movie I had seen years ago except that Bates was incredible.

Was the storyline twisted? Oh yes!
Was it gory? Oh yes!
Was it scary? Oh yes!
Did I have disturbing dreams all week? Oh yes!

I grimaced through parts and was shocked at parts, and yet I also found parts that made me laugh. I was really rooting for Paul Sheldon by the end, and enjoyed some of the conversations he had inside his head.

Did I love it? Oh yes, Oh yes!


That said, I will not be reading more of King's work anytime soon. While I enjoyed it for what it is, I can only take this genre in very small bits. Many people told me I should read The Stand instead--that Misery was a harder read because of the realness of it. But I didn't feel like taking on a 1,000 page book right now and stuck with my plan of reading Misery. The Stand? Maybe someday.....


From Publishers Weekly
King's novel, about a writer held hostage by his self-proclaimed "number-one fan," is unadulterated terrifying. Paul Sheldon, a writer of historical romances, is in a car accident; rescued by nurse Annie Wilkes, he slowly realizes that salvation can be worse than death. Sheldon has killed off Misery Chastain, the popular protagonist of his Misery series and Annie, who has a murderous past, wants her back. Keeping the paralyzed Sheldon prisoner, she forces him to revive the character in a continuation of the series, and she reads each page as it comes out of the typewriter; there is a joyously Dickensian novel within a novel here, and it appears in faded typescript. Studded among the frightening moments are sparkling reflections on the writer and his audience, on the difficulties, joys and responsibilities of being a storyteller, on the nature of the muse, on the differences between "serious" and "popular" writing. Sheldon is a revealingly autobiographical figure; Annie is not merely a monster but is subtly and often touchingly portrayed, allowing hostage and keeper a believable, if twisted, relationship. The best parts of this novel demand that we take King seriously as a writer with a deeply felt understanding of human psychology.

btt: unread edition

Booking Through Thursday question today:
Is there a book that you wish you could “unread”? One that you disliked so thoroughly you wish you could just forget that you ever read it?


Oh my! I can't say that there is a whole book I wish I could unread. I tend to quit a book if I am not enjoying it anywhere between pages 50 and 100--depends on how much I am not enjoying it. Most of my reads come from great recommendations-thanks to all the wonderful book blogging community so I very rarely pick up one that I don't like. But there is one book that I wish I could unread the first opening scene and that would be Gap Creek by Robert Morgan. I could not handle the way the child dies in the beginning of that book and basically threw it down after that. I had no desire to read any more of it. Blech! Might be a great book, but I will never know because I have no intention of ever picking it back up again.

Late Night Bulletin--

It is 1:00 AM and I have just finished Misery by King.
Yes, I am up at 1:00 AM on a work night.
I just could not put that book down with those last 35 pages to go--so here I am---up still.
Oh, I will pay the price tomorrow morning at 6:30 when the alarm goes off.
Oh yes I will.

I hope I sleep tonight. That Stephen King is one twisted guy. That book is one twisted story. But in a weird way, I enjoyed it. For the kind of book it is. Not my normal cup of tea and probably the last King novel I read for a long time.

Emily's Ghost

Marcia, over a the Printed Page, hosts Cover Attraction each Wednesday.

Emily's Ghost: a novel of the Bronte Sisters by Denise Giardina
Release Date: July 2009

I love the shading in this cover art and the haunted feel it gives.

Amazon:
A lustrous, beautifully written reimagining of the Brontë family—and of Emily Brontë’s passionate engagement with life. Enigmatic, intelligent, and fiercely independent, Emily Brontë refuses to bow to the conventions of her day: she is distrustful of marriage, prefers freedom above all else, and walks alone at night on the moors above the isolated rural village of Haworth. But Emily’s life, along with the rest of the Brontë family, is turned upside down with the arrival of an idealistic clergyman named William Weightman. Weightman champions poor mill workers’ rights, mingles with radical labor agitators, and captivates Haworth—and the Brontës especially—with his energy and charm. An improbable friendship between Weightman and Emily develops into a fiery but unconsummated love affair—and when tragedy strikes, the relationship continues, like the love story at the heart of Wuthering Heights, beyond the grave.

Wordless Wednesday

Sam loving his book.
Dodger, the the cat, loving Sam.

(click to enlarge and get a clearer picture)

Victorian Challenge: Finished!

Another one completed. This challenge had a ton of overlap for me-the 3 I read for it, were also on a couple of other challenge lists for me this year. Just click on the titles to read my reviews of them.
Thanks for hosting this Alex.


This is another challenge that I can complete without adding any more books to my 2009 reading list. Alex is hosting it and you can read all the rules here. There are several levels to choose from, and since it is only a 6 month challenge I will only go with level 1: A Drink at Whitechapel, requiring 3 books to be read. The books I am picking overlap with Becky's 18th and 19th Century Writers Challenge.

1. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskall (1853)-finished
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899)-finished
3. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth Von Armin (1898)-finished

2009 Themed Reading Challenge: Finished!

Yeah!! I finished this challenge with time to spare!! Just click on the titles of the books below to see my review. I have to admit this was an easy challenge because you were able to draw from other challenges to complete your theme.
Thanks Wendy for hosting this!!

My favorite read is Cranford--I really enjoyed Gaskell's sense of humor amidst her reflections of small town life in the village of Cranford.

February 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009

The Themed Reading Challenge, hosted by Wendy, is a six month challenge designed to help readers clear books from their to-be-read stacks which center around a common theme or themes. Here are the “rules”:

1. Books should be chosen from the reader’s TBR pile (this may be an actual physical pile or a virtual pile).
2. The goal is to read 4 to 6 books linked by theme.
3. Overlaps with other challenges are allowed.
4. Readers may change their list of books at any time.
5. Readers may choose three different levels of participation:

• Read at least 4 books with the same theme.
• Read at least 5 books that share at least TWO themes.
• Read at least 6 books that share MORE than two themes.

I think I will do the first level: 4 books with the same theme.
The theme will be 4 books written by a female author, before the year 1900.

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim
3. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. A Busy Day by Fanny Burney

A Busy Day

Book: A Busy Day by Fanny Burney
Pages: 127
Finished: May, 2009
Challenges:
** Casual Classics
** 18th & 19th Century Women Authors
** New Authors
** Read and Review
** 2009 Themed Reading
** Spring Reading Thing

First Sentence: "There! there! open that door! To the right I say!"

From Amazon:
"A Busy Day is a love story, as well as a witty and wonderfully observed satire on class and greed by the most popular woman writer of her time. The scene is London in the summer of 1800. In the course of just one busy day, we are gleefully tumbled into a world of frustrated love, mistaken identity, snobbery, and downright vulgar bad manners."


This was just that---a gleeful romp--although the lack of manners exhibited by the aristocracy was down right shocking at times. One must consider the biography of the author to fully appreciate this little satiric comedy of manners and lack thereof.

Since this is one of Fanny's plays---written in 1800 but not published until the 1990's--I had to read this in play form. This is not my preferred choice for reading material, but after I got several pages into it, I was able to keep all the characters straight without looking at the front of the book where all the characters and their relation to each other was written out. Because there is not really any action, just rapier quick dialogue it took me longer than usual to keep the characters straight in my mind!

From Wikepedia
All of Burney’s (June 13, 1752- January 6, 1840) novels explore the lives of English aristocrats, and satirize their social pretensions and personal foibles, with an eye to larger questions such as the politics of female identity. With one exception, Burney never succeeded in having her plays performed, largely due to objections from her father who thought that publicity from such an effort would be damaging to her reputation. The exception was Edwy and Elgiva, which unfortunately was not well received by the public and closed after the first night’s performance.

Although her novels were hugely popular during her lifetime, following her death Burney’s reputation as a writer suffered at the hands of biographers and critics who felt that the extensive diaries, published posthumously in 1841, offered a more interesting and accurate portrait of eighteenth century life. Today, however, critics are returning to her novels and plays with a renewed interest in her perspective on the social lives and struggles of women in a predominantly male-oriented culture. Scholars continue to value Burney’s diaries as well, for their candid depictions of eighteenth-century English society^.

Her early novels were read and enjoyed by Jane Austen, whose own title Pride and Prejudice derives from the final pages of Cecilia. Throughout her career as a writer, her wit and talent for satirical caricatures were widely acknowledged. While some early historians derided the “feminine sensibility” of her writing, her fiction is now widely acknowledged for its critical wit and for its deliberate exploration of the lives of women.

Cranford

Book: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Pages: 212
Finished: May,2009
Challenges:
** 18 & 19th Century Women Writers
** Victorian Challenge
** Casual Classics
** Spring Reading Thing
** tbr
** Read and Review
** New Author
** Themed Reading

First sentence: "In the first place, Cranford is in the possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses, above a certain rent, are women."

Summary from Amazon:
Novel by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, published serially in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words from 1851 to 1853 and in book form in 1853. Basing her tales on the village in which she was reared, Gaskell produced a gently comic picture of life and manners in an English country village during the 1830s. The novel's narrator (a young woman who periodically visits Cranford) describes the small adventures in the lives of two middle-aged sisters in reduced circumstances who do their best to maintain their standards of propriety, decency, and kindness. Using an intimate, gossipy voice that never turns sentimental, Gaskell conveys the old-fashioned habits, subtle class distinctions, and genteel poverty of the townspeople. Cranford quickly became one of the author's best-loved works.

"Cranford is a charming imaginary town filled with chatty females, most of them old spinsters, gossip and nostalgia, loves unfulfilled and remembered, and loves that find a place and a home at last."

My Thoughts:
I am not normally a great lover of classics---actually, when I manage to read them I find that I enjoy them. It is just that the act of reading them can be a chore at times. I am a lazy reader in that I don't like to have to look something up which I don't understand--in the middle of reading! That said, I tend to shy away from tackling this genre more often.
Cranford! Ah Cranford! What a genteel and slow paced life is led in Cranford. I found the story delightful and the characters, (largely comprised of spinsters and widows) to be delightful in their own quirky ways also. Miss Matty is the most sweet of them all, and it is no wonder that everyone in Cranford loves her so and rallies to support her in her hour of need. Although men are noticeably quite absent throughout most of the book, the topic of the vulgarity of men occurs amongst the ladies of Cranford. Men and marriage do find their way into the novel-and what kind gentlemen they are!

This is not a plot driven novel, but rather a character driven novel as we are transported back to a simpler time--proper behavior is expected and observed down to the very details of when it is proper to call on one another and what style of clothing to wear during that calling time. Gossip abounds, as well as sweet time spent reminiscing as we come to understand these old ladies through the remembrances of their youth.

Passage that made me laugh:

"My next visit to Cranford was in the summer. There had been neither births, deaths, nor marriages since I was there last. Everybody lived in the same house, and wore pretty nearly the same well-preserved, old-fashioned clothes. The greatest event was that the Miss Jenkynses had purchased a new carpet for the drawing-room. Oh the busy work Miss Matty and I had in chasing the sunbeams, as they fell in an afternoon right down on this carpet through the blindless window! We spread newspapers over the places, and sat down to our book or our work; and , lo! in a quarter of an hour the sun had moved, and was blazing away on a fresh spot; and down again we went on our knees to alter the position of the newspapers. We were very busy , too, one whole morning, before Miss Jenkyns gave her party, in following her directions, and in cutting out and stitching together pieces of newspaper, so as to form little paths to every chair, set for the expected visitors, lest their shoes might dirty or defile the purity of the carpet. Do you make paper paths for every guest to walk upon in London."


Twelve years after publishing Cranford, Gaskell has kind words for her most prolific work. "It is the only one of my books that I can read again; but whenever I am ailing or ill, I take Cranford and - I was going to say, enjoy it! (but that would not be pretty!) laugh over it afresh!"


Here is a great little biography of Elizabeth Gaskell.

just chillin'

This used to be me, back in the day when I was 16 years old, and the sun was shining on the weekend!
(except for the ever present cell phone by the head)

Monday Business

What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted each week by J. Kaye's Book Blog

I started Misery by Steven King and am loving it, in a twisted sort of way. ;) It is a pretty fast read and since I am off work today and tomorrow still, I hope to finish it!

Next up:

Mudbound
--or--
The Well and the Mine
-or-
The Elegance of the Hedgehog

(oh my! the options are endless!)

Musing Mondays topic of the day? Gift Cards.

Do you give gift certificates to book stores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?

This answer is short and sweet! Yes I give them. Yes I love to receive them and I usually give them to specific stores.

I know in the past I have read discussions on this where some people abhor giving them as it seems so impersonal. My feeling is that choosing reading material is such a personal choice that I don't want to give something that won't be enjoyed. I do buy actual books for my husband and children, and even sometimes for my best friend. But for my parents and other family members I very often give the gift of a card.

TSS:: May 24th

It is a glorious Northwest Sunday--sunny and mid '70s for temperatures.

After this post is up, I have a date with my current (and almost finished) read, Cranford! Next up is Misery by Steven King. This will by my first King novel and while others told me I should read something different, like The Stand (Ti!), I already own Misery and I didn't want a really long novel like the Stand.

This week has been a slow reading week for me, what with the finales of Dancing With the Stars and American Idol to watch along with 2 baseball games for my sons.

Round up of my posts for this past week:

My very first ever, hosted book give a-way is up and running until June 8th. You can read about it and sign up to win as many books on the list that you want-(if you are the winner) HERE!

Monday Musings was about early childhood reading and I posted you tube video of someone reading a favorite childhood poem complete with Tenniel illustrations. See it here.

More Monday fun, containing Mailbox Monday and What Are You Reading On Mondays can be seen here.

I gave you all glimpse of my lovely self and my yard here!

My son and his amazing state competition saxophone solo is here.

In case you are looking for more book choices you can see what I found at the library this week here. It was quite a successful trip for me!

Friday Finds were posted as well as some happy mailbox news with my posts here and here.

Finally, my Weekly Geeks post about war and highlighting Schindler's List can be found here.

Weekly Geeks: war

With Memorial Day in the U.S. this coming Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the military. Either share your favorite book on war or movie on war and why. Provide a clip from the movie if you'd like or a passage from the book that shows us why you it's your favorite book or movie. Or do both. OR choose your own military theme, for example, if you have a relative or friend in the military and you would like to send them a video or a message of thanks, do that on your blog. OR do all three. The book and movie also don't have to be "patriotic" necessarily.


There are actually 2 options for weekly geeks this week-the other one is a summer reading question. I chose to do the military option first, and will post about summer stuff in a separate post.
First off, I want to say that I hate war. But, I feel that I am a realist and being such I can say that war is a fact of life on this Earth. There have always been wars and there will always be wars-it is embedded in human nature. You may not agree with me, and that is alright, but since this is my blog I am allowed to say it! :)

When I read the weekly geeks question for the day the first movie that popped into my head was Schindler's List. That movie tears my heart apart, and yet I feel that it is the best movie made ever about World War II and the atrocities that were committed. Spielberg is an amazing artist! I cry from almost the opening scene until the end.

I have to admit that I have never read the book, although it is sitting on my shelf and has for several years. I even listed it for a challenge I was taking part of last year and I have it on one for this year, but I have always switched it out. I am not sure if I am afraid to read it because it won't be as good as the movie, or if because of the movie the book will be even harder to read. In any event I know that I WILL someday read it. I have read numerous books about WWII and have mentioned that I kind of go through a WWII phase each spring with my reading.

There are two clips I found to share. The first is just a recording of the theme song, played incredibly by Itzhak Perlman. It is beautiful and haunting and makes me cry just listening to it as scenes to the movie play throughout my mind. Such a crying violin which brilliantly portrays the despair and sadness of the people and these events.






The second scene is the ghetto liquidation scene--In the scene there is little girl in the crowd being rounded up who is wearing a red coat --(it shows up better when I have seen this on t.v.-). She was a real little girl and I discovered her memoir several years ago at my library--called, The Girl in the Red Coat.
There is an article BBC News did on her in 2002 which you can read here.
I also found a page which talks about the round up, with present day pictures of where Schindler was looking down from his horse in the movie.






The Trailer:

Another one!

Sheri from A Novel Menagerie is giving away 3 copies of April & Oliver by Tess Callahan.

Visit her blog here for all the details and ways to get extra entries for the drawing. This book is being released June 3rd and looks like it will be one that makes the rounds and pops up in lots of book discussions!

sweet

Bingo has gifted me with a sweet little award--


An Award for Bloggers who show
Attitude and Gratitude!



Making lemonade out of life's lemons is an important principle to grasp if we are going to be content in this lifetime! I have had such a great time this past year and a half that I have kept this book blog. I have met so many wonderful people through our mutual love of books and reading--it is always a joy to hop online and visit all my blog friends. There are several blogs on my sidebar that I have been following a long time and I think most of them have already been given this award, so I have decided to bestow it on 10 blogs which have become new *followers* of my blog. I encourage you to check out there blogs, as well as Bingo's!

1. Staci from Life in the Thumb
2. Gaby from Starting Fresh
3. Vicki from Reading at the Beach
4. Kristi from Books and Needlepoint
5. Yolanda from The Mermaid's Bookshelf
6. Zetor from Mog's Blog
7. Sue from Book By Book
8. Scrap Girl from Serendipity
9. Bev from Merry Weather
10. Hagelrat from un:bound

As if I wasn't giddy enough!

I was floating today at work because I now have a 4 day weekend and the weather here is going to be Beautiful with a capital "B"! Mid 70's with a lovely marine breeze to keep things comfortable--I am all over that weather forecast.

But as if that wasn't all enough to make my heart sing, there is more. I checked my email and I have won not 1, but 2 books today!! We all know what a rush that is, don't we? Come on and admit it!

And what did I win? Well let me show you--and I must say that they are both books that I have really, really, really, really been wanting!


From Nise at Under the Boardwalk:

1.Testimony: Anita Shreve
















Thank You Nise!



From Bingo at Bookin' with Bingo:

2. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson















Thank You Bingo!

Ah...the joy of Friday

Friday Finds:

1. Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson

2. A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate

3. Mermaids in the Basement by Michelle Lee West

To see other Friday Finds or to share some of your own, visit MizB, our Friday hostess!

wordless wednesday (thursday)

Gerbera Daisy

library loot:: lots of goodies!

I had a great and successful day at the library today. I just wandered in to get one book and look at what I came home with!

1. The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart















2. Home by Julie Andrews












3. Inheritance by Natalie Danford













4. I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass














5. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh














6. Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand













And finally, after trying every which way to Sunday to win this one through many book blog give-aways and not winning:

7. The Laws of Harmony by Judith Ryan Hendricks!!!

treat

...a little culture for your evening enjoyment....

5th in State! Woot Woot!

before and after

After struggling to prune and dig and be creative, while of course enjoying the sun, I finally have a sweet little flower area going in the front yard. As you can see, ivy had really taken over my pots.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:


After:


I really would have rather been reading a book!